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As Jack Grew’s words dissolved into laughter, Jianyu leapt for the monstrous smoke, slicing at the body with Viola’s knife. This beast was larger than the others by far, and this time it did not immediately burst into flames. Instead, it reared back as if in pain, trying to dislodge Jianyu. In the process, it dropped Theo to the floor, and his body hit the hard marble below with a sickening thud.

“We have to help him. You have to help him!” Ruby cried to Viola.

But it was already too late. There was nothing Viola would be able to do for Theo, not anymore.

“You must go,” Jianyu ordered as he tried to wrestle the beast back with the dagger. “Would you deny Theo the last thing he asked for?” Jianyu asked Ruby as the monster stalked ever closer.

With his words, the fight seemed to drain out of the bride, and the girl fell into Viola’s arms.

“Your knife,” Jianyu shouted, ready to toss it back to Viola. She would need something for protection.

“Keep it,” Viola said. “I will come back for you.”

“I know,” Jianyu told her simply. “Go.”

As Viola tugged the bride away, disappearing through the dense fog, Jianyu turned back to Jack Grew.

Jack Grew had gone completely still and was examining Jianyu with narrowed eyes. “I’ve been looking for one like you,” he said. Suddenly the fog around Jianyu began to swirl. Anticipation lit Jack’s eyes. “The things I’ll do with the power that lives within you.”

“You are certainly most welcome to try,” Jianyu said as he prepared for the attack, hoping that Viola would be swift.

THE DIARY

1980—Central Park

The wailing sirens were growing closer, but Harte wasn’t done yet.

“Hurry,” Esta told him, but his eyes were still closed, and his hand was still wrapped around Dakari’s. He shook his head slightly, as if to say, Not yet.

She considered using her affinity. Maybe she could grab the two of them and hold them in the net of time until Harte was finished, but her power over the seconds had never stopped Thoth.

They needed to go, and they needed to go now. They had to lead the Guard and Thoth away from Dakari before anyone saw him. He’d already died once because of her. She wouldn’t put a target on his back by letting the Guard find them together. Even if it meant dooming herself to an unknown future.

Esta jerked Harte away, breaking his hold on Dakari’s hand, hoping he’d done enough. Dakari gasped as though surfacing from water, and Harte shuddered, stumbling a little before he caught himself.

“What happened?” Dakari asked. “Did it work?”

“They know we’re here,” she told him, as another siren cut through the air. “But we’re not going to let them find you.”

Dakari blinked in confusion. He looked almost drunk, and she didn’t want to leave him there unprotected. But in the distance she heard the rhythmic thumping of a helicopter. They were out of time. They couldn’t take him with them, and there wouldn’t be a chance to come back to see him again. Once she was in the past, there would be no returning, not if she sent the child forward with Ishtar’s Key. But somehow saying goodbye felt impossible.

It didn’t matter that this rangy-looking teen wasn’t really her Dakari. She launched herself at him anyway and wrapped him in a hug. For a second he just stood shocked, and then his arms were around her.

“Is that all really going to happen?” he asked, whispering close to her ear.

She nodded. “But it doesn’t have to. You can change things, but it will be your choice.” She squeezed a little tighter, wishing she could tell him everything she’d never said. “Whatever you choose, there aren’t any regrets. You made my life bearable. You made it everything.”

He looked shaken. “It’s a lot to take in.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” She thought about that night she went back, about the night he died. “Whatever you do, don’t trust the Professor,” she told him. “He’ll use you until he doesn’t need you anymore. It doesn’t matter what he promises. He’s never going to put you before his own interests.”

Releasing him, she stepped back, wishing she could stay. She would have liked to know him now, before he’d been trained by the Professor and honed into the weapon he’d later become. But there wasn’t time. There were Guards in the park. She could see the black of their boxy coats through the thick foliage and hear the confused exclamations from the people they were searching.

“You’re going to need this,” Harte told him, handing over the small diary.

“What are you doing?” Esta asked. This wasn’t part of the plan.

Harte glanced at her. “You’re going to have to trust me on this.” Then he turned back to Dakari. “You’ll know what to do with it when the time comes.” He held out his hand, and Dakari took it, pulling him in for a rough hug.